This invention relates to human vaccines, such as vaccines for protection against pathogenic microorganisms, e.g. bacterial infections and the like, and to human anti-cancer vaccines. More particularly, and in one special embodiment, this invention relates to the preparation of human anti-cancer vaccines useful for the prevention and/or treatment of cancer, such as melanoma, breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer and other such cancers.
For the treatment of cancer, it has been suggested to increase tumor protective immunity by active immunization to tumor antigens, see (1) the article by R. K. Oldham entitled "Biologicals and Biological Response Modifiers: Fourth Modality of Cancer Treatment", Cancer Treat Rep (1984):68:221-232, and (2) the article by M. J. Mastrangelo et al entitled "Current Condition and Prognosis of Tumor Immunotherapy: A Second Opinion", Cancer Treat Rep (1984):68:207-219. Unfortunately, this approach for the prevention and/or treatment of cancer has not been successful or completely satisfactory because of a number of problems, such as the absence in the vaccine of tumor antigens expressed by the tumor to be treated, poor characterization of the antigens in tumor vaccines, the contamination of vaccines by immunogenic but undesirable material, such as fetal calf serum (FCS) protein or transplantation antigens and additionally due to the antigenic heterogenicity of the cancer cells. Moreover, such tumor vaccines were often prepared from fresh tumor cells, the supply of which is limited so that the properties of the vaccines are not reproducible.
A clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the toxicity and immunogenicity in man of a partially purified, polyvalent, melanoma antigen vaccine and some success was indicated, see the abstract of the paper by J. C. Bystryn et al published by The Society for Investigative Dermatology, Inc. entitled "Phase 1 Trial of Specific Immunotherapy of Melanoma with a Polyvalent Melanoma Antigen Vaccine."
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved anti-cancer vaccine.
It is another object of this invention to provide a technique for the preparation of an improved anti-cancer vaccine.
It is another object of this invention to provide an immunotherapy for the prevention and/or treatment of human cancer.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a technique for the production of reproducible anti-cancer vaccines.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a technique for the preparation of an anti-cancer vaccine useful when introduced into a patient to prevent and/or to treat cancer.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a technique for the preparation of vaccines for diseases caused by infectious cellular and/or subcellular organisms and/or viruses.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a technique for the preparation of clinically or biologically important material shed from the surface of cells and the like.
How these and other objects of this invention are achieved will become apparent in the light of the accompanying disclosure. In at least one embodiment of the practices of this invention at least one of the foregoing objects will be achieved.